Im not an expert, and I havent done Spanish grammar for a while; so any and all of this can be incorrect.

But I think what you were told, that there are no rules, is wrong.

As I understand it, in general, if the situation is temporary or referring to location it uses estar. "La puerta está abierta." And if the situation is more permanent "el gato es rojo," ser is used instead. Then there are nuances, exceptions, and further specificity, but that is the basic use that I was taught. I dont think the third person singular conjugations are magically different in their uses from the other 5...

I would use "es" for pesado. Am I confused?

Last edited by Rusty; August 31, 2009 at 05:27 AM.
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Generally estar means: to be in the state of (in the state if sadness in the
state joy , illness, Kansas, etc.)
Ser is less transient and more of an inherent characterisitic. Sometimes ser and estar can be interchanged but the meaning changes. Ella es rubia. Ella está rubia for example.
With that in mind there a also genuine solid rules which you need to know and practive. You can always pull them up on the internet.
Here's an example:http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/100040/ser-and-estar
Most people who are not native Spanish speakers make mistakes with ser
and estar, and native speakers will, for the most part, understand anyway.

As I understand it, in general, if the situation is temporary or referring to location it uses estar. "La puerta está abierta." And if the situation is more permanent "el gato es rojo," ser is used instead. Then there are nuances, exceptions, and further specificity, but that is the basic use that I was taught. I dont think the third person singular conjugations are magically different in their uses from the other 5...

That's where I got confused when I first learned about ser and estar, for example:

Éllos son estudiantes. (Most people don't stay a student forever!)

I was told that the difference was permanent/temporary, but I wasn't told about exceptions.

Quote:

Ser is less transient and more of an inherent characterisitic. Sometimes ser and estar can be interchanged but the meaning changes. Ella es rubia. Ella está rubia for example.

Just curious... does "Ella está rubia" mean that she is blond because she died it blond, but "Ella es rubia" means that she is naturally blond?

I'm reading a book about Spanish grammar. In the section on present indicative verbs, this statement is made: "Verbs with irregular first-person singular only; all other forms in the present are regular: ......." and it goes on to list a bunch of verbs like caber and traer, etc. It also includes estar on the list. Is the present indicative conjugation for estar really considered regular except for the first-person estoy? So, the accents don't make it irregular: estás, está, están, etc...